The Sopranos star James Gandolfini is a step closer to returning to HBO‘s drama lineup with a starring role in the network’s Criminal Justice.HBO has given a pilot order to the drama project, written by Oscar nominee Richard Price (The Color Of Money) and to be directed by Oscar-wining writer Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List). Criminal Justice is a New York-set crime drama loosely based on the acclaimed 2008 BBC series of the same name created by Peter Moffat. Joining the ensemble cast led by Gandolfini are Rizwan Ahmed, Bill Camp, Peyman Moadi and Poorna Jagannathan.

The original series consisted of two five-episode seasons, each chronicling the journey of a person charged with murder through the justice system, and each featuring new characters and cast. HBO’s version follows the plot of the first season of the British series, which starred Ben Whishaw as Ben Coulter, a man who takes his father’s cab for a drive and picks up a party girl who takes him to her apartment for a drunken and drug-filled night out. When he wakes up in the morning, Ben finds the girl stabbed to death and, though he can’t remember committing the crime, he is soon charged with it. (Watch a trailer below) The season earned Criminal Justice BAFTA Awards for best drama and best writer, three Royal Television Society Awards and an International Emmy.

I’ve learned that in the U.S. version, the young man is an American-born Pakistani named Naz (Ahmed). Gandolfini plays Jack Stone, a disheveled jailhouse lawyer wearing cheap suits and sandals, who trolls for clients at police precincts. That’s where he sees Naz in a holding cell and appoints himself his attorney. (The character is expected to continue if the series is renewed for additional seasons.) Camp plays the lead detective on the case; Jagannathan — repped by Hartig Hilepo and Smith Talent Group — and Moadi play Naz’s parents.

The pilot, produced by HBO in association with BBC Worldwide Prods., is slated to shoot in New York this fall. It was written by Price and will be directed by Zaillian who is set expected to write/co-write future episodes. Gandolfini will executive produce through his Attaboy banner along with Zaillian, Price, Moffat, BBC Worldwide Prods’ Jane Tranter and Gandolfini’s managers Nancy Sanders and Mark Armstrong. Garrett Basch of Zaillian’s Film Rites is a producer.

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Congrats Bill Camp! I had the pleasure of doing some scenes with him in Lawless. Great to...

Agree

2 years

Searching for Bobby Fisher is one of the best, most underrated films ever.

HBO, where Gandolfini has had deals since 2006, has been looking to find a new series vehicle for the Emmy winner, a follow-up to his iconic role on the network’s mob drama Sopranos. He has flirted with a number of HBO projects — including a U.S. version of the hit French Canadian comedy series Taxi-22, and Big Dead Place, a comedic drama set in the Antarctic — but Criminal Justice is the first project that he committed to and that is moving to production. On the longform side, CAA-repped Gandolfini starred in the HBO film Cinema Verite and executive produced the biopic Hemingway & Gellhorn starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman. He will next be seen in the feature Killing Them Softly opposite Brad Pitt. Film Rites’ upcoming feature slate includes Freezing People Is Easy, with Paul Rudd and Kristen Wiig starring and Errol Morris directing from a script by Zach Helm, who also wrote Deep Water, a thriller that Film Rites is producing for Fox 2000. The company is currently packaging Timur Bekmambetov’s The Current War and Ridley Scott’s Red Riding.

Criminal Justice joins two other recent pilot orders at HBO, to comedies Hello Ladies and Getting On, which is also based is on a BBC format and co-produced by BBC Worldwide Prods. The network also recently gave a straight-to-series order to Christopher Guest’s comedy Family Tree starring Chris O’Dowd.

Finally, an new HBO project that sounds worthwhile. The only good series on the network now is Game of Thrones. Boardwalk Empire has gotten stale.

Ouchie • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

I am sure this will be good… but I couldn’t even watch the trailer without feeling horrible inside.

Thank god. • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

If we can’t get The Wire back, at least we get Zallian and Price on a realworld crime show

shadallion • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

IN!

Kenny • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

And the Emmy goes to…

Just Sayin' • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Steve is one of the most amazing writers working in Hollywood today, but if he is Directing this, and not writing it, why don’t you credit him for other films he has directed? In fact, he has directed Gandolfini before in All the King’s Men.

Agree • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Searching for Bobby Fisher is one of the best, most underrated films ever.

jk • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Go get Paget Brewster for this series. She will get an Emmy and the show will get an Emmy with Gandolfini/Brewster/Price and Zaillian.

April Webster • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Sounds amazing!

isa • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Anything with big Jim

Reality Check • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Before we start handing out the Emmys, let’s see an episode or two. Many HBO shows have had marvelous pedigrees but have proven to be forgettable. Luck Anyone?

Ruby • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

The original BBC series was bloody good. Hope the guy who plays Naz is as good as the English dude.

Scott Baiowulfgang Amadeus • on Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am

Congrats Bill Camp! I had the pleasure of doing some scenes with him in Lawless. Great to see him get steady work. He’ll be great in this. Rizwan Ahmed has some big shoes to fill in Ben Winshaw’s role. I’m curious who they get to play Pete Postlethwaite’s character. Can’t wait to see how this turns out.